Second Harvest - Jason Clark

Heroes needed: Two club members are needed to help present Holmes Elementary Golden Heroes at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 23.

Save the dates: Club President Chad Haverkamp said registrations are open for a District Leadership Training Assembly meeting on April 7, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Spokane Valley Tech, 115 S. University, and the District Conference, June 1-3 in Sandpoint.

Pins: President-elect Lenore Romney has order slips for magnetic membership pins for a few more weeks.

Hunger is no game for thousands

If you think your meal planning is tough, try feeding the clients at Second Harvest.

For Jason Clark, Second Harvest’s president and CEO, here’s his grocery list:

Some 32 million pounds of food is gathered and redistributed each year to tens of thousands of people in 21 eastern Washington and five North Idaho counties. And, as Clark says: “It’s all free!” He adds: “We’re blessed to be close to the Columbia Basin” (and all of the various crops which are donated).

Second Harvest operates from its modernized, 85,000-square-foot warehouse at 1234 E. Front in Spokane and a new facility at 5825 Burlington Loop in Pasco. Some 250 neighborhood outlets distribute food in the 52,000 square-mile area.

And if an army moves with its meals, Second Harvest has its own army of 47 full-time staff, 15 more part-time staff and 2,000 volunteers and 8,000 individuals, businesses, farms and agency food donors. Clark said people and groups can register to volunteer in shifts of two hours or more. Partners include the Salvation Army, an array of churches and many others.

Mobile outlets include vans, a beer truck converted to an open market and soon an STA bus with a new artistic paint job and outfitted with racks and coolers. The rebuilt engine, Clark said,“only has 475,000 miles on it.”

One new food bank initiative, he said, is a “bike to go” program who needy kids can take meals home. Sponsors can donate $4 to provide a full meal for a growing child. That program has grown from 400 students to 3,700 kids, Clark said.

Another big initiative is “The Kitchen,” where people can improve culinary skills to help low-income families. One staffer there is a former chef at Clinkerdagger’s, Clark said.

Checking all of the food stuffs are federal agencies and the American Institute of Baking helpers.

Clark, who has led Second Harvest since 2002, said there have been very rarely food “scammers.”

Among the dozens of food bank activities is the 3rd Annual Inland Northwest Hunger Run, an April 7 event for 5K and 10K walks and runs, starting at Plante’s Ferry Park on Upriver Drive.